Monterey Get Away!

Yeah, my Cool Summer Day posts should be kid oriented, but when you’re celebrating your anniversary, it’s allowed to be sans kids! =)

Before I brag on my husband a bit, I’d like to share a life lesson. After all, my motto here at “Rookie to Rock Star” is that I will share the JOURNEY…that means the transition from bad to good good to fantastic! =)

Every marriage is going to have, what my husband and I like to refer to them as “marital moments”. Feel free to steal the phrase, it helps make light of those otherwise, uncomfortable times in marriage. Without going into too much detail, a LIFE LESSON (life lessons in red throughout the post) we learned about a year back is this:

**Never make a financial decision without consulting your spouse.**

and secondly…

**Decide with your spouse, what monetary value requires consultation ahead of time.**

Also, and this is for women, TELL YOUR HUSBAND WHAT YOU WANT!! Seriously ladies, they can’t read our minds! If you want something, you need to tell them. In my case? I needed to tell my husband that I want to get away. To be honest, I didn’t care who planned the trip, where we went…I just wanted to go somewhere without my hubby complaining.

Let the Bragging begin!

To celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, my husband planned the following:

1. Arranged for 2 days and nights at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa (on the California coast).

2. Made reservations for dinner at the Sardine Factory**.

**Unfortunately, I don’t know that I’d recommend it. =( While the food was delicious, I got food poisoning and was up for 4 hours in the middle of the night. Boo!!! I was soo looking forward to a night of uninterrupted sleep (you know, with having a 3 month old and all).

3. Gave in and let me buy this smokin’ hot dress for our dinner out (courtesy of Ross, gotta love ‘em!):4. Purchased tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which was where we initially really got to know one another, and learned to appreciate one another’s sense of humor. (on a college field trip waaay back when!)

We’re definitely going back with the kids. They will love it! Jellyfish, sea otters…so much eye candy!

5.  Made arrangements to go kayaking in the bay through Adventures in the Sea. Lastly, set time aside for just you and your spouse. It may feel like a hassle, but you need it! A relationship this close is going to require work, and work takes time. If you don’t take the time to appreciate your spouse, you will lose that relationship.

We had to make a lot of arrangements in order for this get away to work, but it was worth every tiny effort! Thank you to both sets of grandparents who (although they loved every second with the grandkids) made lots of sacrifices to help us out! Here’s Cooper having a blast while we were away:

June 13th, 2010